Dryburgh Abbey has yet again been ranked as one of the country’s best visitor attractions. VisitScotland has renewed the castle’s coveted five-star status for a sixth year, marking it out as somewhere visitors can be confident of a warm welcome, excellent facilities and an super day out. The assessments are made by mystery inspectors who turn up at attractions unannounced and only reveal their identity at the end.

The history of Tain in Easter Ross is uncovered in a new book launched today by the Council For British Archaeology and Historic Scotland. Historic Tain: Archaeology and Development is the latest book in the Scottish Burgh Survey series, designed to identify the archaeological potential of Scotland’s historic towns, to guide development decisions and set questions to be answered by further investigation.

Bone buttons, buckles, spurs, half a cannon ball and some early clay pipes are included in a new display of archaeological finds at Smailholm Tower. The finds were made in the 1980s during an excavation by Chris Tabraham, who is now Historic Scotland’s principal historian.

Recruits required for Holyrood Park Patrols. Historic Scotland’s Ranger Service is looking for volunteers of all ages to join its annual Holyrood Park ‘Toad Patrol’. Every year the Rangers keep a sharp look-out for the start of the spawning season when the toads in the capital city’s most famous green space make their perilous journey from its grassy hillsides down to Dunsapie Loch.

Two unusual paintings are back on display at Trinity House maritime museum in Leith after essential conservation work. One, dating from around 1885 and by an unknown artist, shows a Glasgow ship called the Loch Broom in full sail. The vessel was still in service as late as 1917, by which time it was in Scandinavian hands and renamed the Songdal, when it was sunk by a German submarine.